After being released on bail for 300, 000 baht ( US$ 8, 800 ), a US academic accused of breaking Thailand’s strict royal defamation laws will file an appeal against the decision to revoke his visa, according to his attorneys on Thursday ( Apr 10 ).
Paul Chambers, who has spent years in Thailand and is now a professor in a provincial university’s South Asian politics, was detained on Tuesday after making a report to police to reply a cost of lese-majeste.
His situation is one of the few instances in which a stranger breaks stringent laws that shield King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close household from criticism and can result in decades-long prison sentences.
Chambers was released on bail on Wednesday for the legal case, but he was kept in prison until late in the evening while his attorneys negotiated with immigration authorities regarding his immigration status.
In a post on X early on Thursday, Chambers ‘ legal team stated that” His legal team plan to appeal the card revocation.”
In response to a article posted online for a radio hosted by a think-tank site specializing in South Asian politics, the Thai government lodged a complaint against Halls earlier this year.
According to reports in the media, Chambers, who also works as a visiting scholar at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, is accused of publishing a paragraph on the analysis institution’s site in connection with a webinar on defense reshuffles from October last year.
The institute’s official stated concerns about Chambers ‘ imprisonment to CNA on Wednesday.  ,
Dr. Chambers is a highly established scientific who has been a visiting fellow since 2021 as part of the Institute’s Thailand Studies Program, the spokesperson said.
” As a , research center dedicated to the objective analysis of Southeast Asia, ISEAS values Dr. Chambers ‘ contributions.”
The visa revocation was intended to “intimidate,” according to Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, a scientist at Amnesty International who advocates for the release of social prisoners.
Speaking about the king could have consequences, he told AFP on Wednesday,” The visa revocation is intended to send a message to foreign journalists and scientists working in Thailand.”